On Energy Policy

I recently had the pleasure to meet Vito Stagliano, currently Director of Research at the National Commission on Energy Policy, but previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Analysis at the Department of Energy. This meeting spurred me to buy and read his book, A Policy of Discontent: The Making of a National Energy Strategy.

Energy policy is not a subject that one might expect to be captivating, but I found the book fascinating. Partly this comes from working at a Department of Energy lab, and partly from my growing interest in how socio-economic modeling can yield insights into climate change responses. However, above all, as Vito comments, "energy policy is Shakespearean, with heros and villians, although often not clear which is which." An unlikely statement, perhaps, but true.

Comments

[Gabriel Mateescu]

Energy policy may be a captivating subject
for everyone interested in the sustainability
of the human civilization.
Together with environment policy, it
will have a decisive impact on the life
of future generations.

In my opinion, these are times when
politicians and the media need to start
talking about these topics
in a more substantive manner.
Only with vision, leadership, courage,
and a sense of urgency, will the badly
needed changes occur.

It is time for a new "Manhattan
Project", this one aimed at making
renewable energy the dominant form
of energy used in society. And computer
science can be a key contributor to
this project, providing support for
large scale simulations and data
exploration. Having their work
contribute to solving a big challenge
of our time, will stimulate young
computer scientists and will attract
the brightest youth into science
and engineering.